VI. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

A . Employment/Income - Key Themes for Action

1. Getting the Information Out There

• That the BC provincial government, in coordination with the Workers' Compensation Board and queer youth leadership:
  • Fund a queer youth organization(s) to create a workshop on queer youth safety issues.
  • Fund the creation of an information kit, accessible to queer youth, that contains information about rights on the job, avenues to find assistance and information on specialized services providing training for queer youth and which contains practical tips, options and suggestions. The kit should be in the form of a small handbook with accompanying pamphlets, which could easily be distributed at dances/socials, conferences and youth centres, and in a format, which can be easily updated every two years. The kit should be re-distributed every two years.
  • It is vital that queer youth lead this work.

2. Working Against Queer Youth Marginalization Through Real Input

• That the queer community leaders, especially those in the Gay & Lesbian Business Association, and Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments take more responsibility for not marginalizing queer youth by:
  • Examining and updating their concepts of what is meant by legitimate economic contributions;
  • Providing opportunities in employment, housing, and resources through adult and youth action;
  • Becoming aware that marginalizing youth contributes to youth's vulnerability to violence "Kids panhandling is a symptom of the problem and driving them away does not solve the problems;"
  • Learning how to assist queer youth who have employment violence issues by listening to queer youth input;
  • Taking responsibility for all members of the community despite apparent differences from the "mainstream queer community," and;
  • Encouraging queer youth to do their Career and Personal Planning (CAPP) hours in the areas of human rights, social justice and queer issues.

3. Program/Policy Design Under a Queer Youth Lens

• That both the government and the queer community organizations/leaders design their programs and policies/rules using a queer youth lens within a diversity context that takes into account social context such as disability, gender identity, class, poverty, gender, race and ethnic origin.
• That governments and the Workers' Compensation Board, in consultation with the queer community, develop real accountability methods that are designed to assess the progress of these recommendations.

B . Education - Key Themes for Action

1. Public Support for LGBT/GLBT Youth Safety and Human Rights

• That the Ministry of Education publicly support the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students in schools by:
  • Strongly encouraging the specific inclusion of the term "sexual orientation" in all local school board human rights and anti-harassment policies;
  • Publicly stating the Ministry's support for the establishment of Gay/Straight Alliance student groups in all middle and high schools in BC and that all school boards and principals be informed of this public endorsement, and;
  • Ensuring that all school safety resource materials produced by the BC Safe Schools Centre and the Ministry of Education include and focus on resources, which combat anti-gay harassment in schools at all grade levels.
• That the Ministry of Education strongly encourage local school boards to provide coverage for all protected groups under the BC Human Rights Code, including sexual orientation, when determining local policies.
• That the Ministry of Children and Families recognize that LGBT/GLBT youth have a right to access queer culture similar to other minority youth rights to access their cultures.

2. Ending Invisibility - Creating and Using Queer Youth Resources

• That the Ministry of Education re-establish an ongoing sub-committee under the Career And Personal Planning umbrella to approve of age-appropriate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender resources in all curriculum areas.
• That the BC Teachers' Federation provide resources for teachers, students and parents on LGBT/GLBT issues.
• That GALE-BC develops a "how-to" resource guide for the queer community to use in presentations to school boards in order to battle institutionalized homophobia in the school system. This resource would include a bibliography of resources, videos etc. to recommend to schools.
• That the Ministry of Health instructs regional health boards throughout BC to seek LGBT/GLBT policy and program advisors similar to the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board's existing model.

3. Training the Teachers

• That the BC Teachers' Federation provides more Professional Development training for teachers on LGBT/GLBT issues.
• That the Vancouver School Board works with the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board, specifically through its LGBT population health advisory committee, to consult, educates and trains teachers and school board personnel on LGBT issues.
• That the Ministry of Education and the BCTF jointly set provincial learning outcomes for the teaching of LGBT/GLBT issues in appropriate courses in schools and that equal time be given to the issues of racism, sexism and homophobia.

C . Health - Key Themes for Action

1. Awareness and Education

• That queer community leaders coordinate with all social services and contractors with the Ministries to create a process to ensure education and sensitivity workshops on queer health issues for all Ministry staff and branches. This training would include health care workers and social workers outside the Ministries such as social service agencies
• That a queer youth organization be funded to prepare a 'Queer Youth Coming Out' handbook that starts from an anti-oppression point. This handbook would contain information and resources for queer youth, including issues surrounding coming out in a holistic sense and which includes tips on how to negotiate through situations of conflict and negotiating around safer sex.
• That a 'Train the Trainers' workshop be created to deal with potential conflicts, for queer youth leaders and supporters to self-empower youth to resolve potential conflicts, including those with parents. This workshop could possibly use the negotiation model used at the Justice Institute for business conflicts. This training would be passed on to other queers and incorporated into Pride Speaks.

2. Support for Queer-Positive Resources

• That queer and queer-positive safe houses be supported through the provision of funding new resources like the Pride House proposed by the Pride Society and also through queer youth sensitivity training and anti-ageist, queer supportive policy development for existing resources.

3. Inter-Ministerial Coordination

• That Ministry of Social Security and Economic Development and the Ministry of Children and Families accept that gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans youth cannot always return to live at home and that these Ministries review their policy of sending youth back home if there is no history of physical abuse or violence.

4. Healing the Queer Communities

• That the Ministries support an open and constructive dialogue within the gay community about healing the gay community in order that youth will not continue to be socialized or manipulated by older gay men, but will be accorded their right to be free to choose their own expression of sexuality and attraction. This dialogue must address the clear power imbalances and other inequities that occur within the queer communities including those created by age and gender. This dialogue must address issues of shame, low self -esteem and internalized homophobia.

5. Taking Action on Queer Youth Health through Real Input

• That workshops on negotiating safer sex be given for all youth using role playing techniques such as conflict resolution, anger management, anti-violence and anti-oppression workshops.
• That the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Children and Families, Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security, Ministry of Skills and Training and the Attorney General create and listen to queer youth-led advisory groups and provide them with adequate supports so that appropriate actions can take place.

D . Spirituality - Key Themes for Action

1. Ending the Isolation: Creating Resources/Building Links

• That an Internet Web page be created, and be continually updated. It would contain links to web sites and resources on various LGBT/GLBT positive religions and religious support groups. This web site would contain stories by queer youth for queer youth designed to support queer youth in their search for spirituality. Web pages and resources posted on the site would be notified of this site in order that this site may be cross-linked with other queer-positive sites.
• That a package of information about spiritual and religious resources be created so that queer youth can access available resources and that this package be made available through the 1-800 telephone number at The Centre as well as on the above Web Site. The current hours of service , and associated funding must be expanded at The Centre so that LGBT/GLBT youth can access resources through this number. This package must include a series of pamphlets created by and for queer youth about available resources on spirituality and organized religions, which will be distributed at dances, queer events and at local drop-ins or youth centres, as well as being located on the web page.

2. Ending Hate: Taking Action

• That the Ministries fund a project, led by queer youth, designed to:
  • Assess, through a letter campaign and a questionnaire, how open and how supportive various religious congregations or spiritual/religious youth groups are toward queer youth and their willingness to hear "Pride Speaks;"
  • Create specific "Pride Speaks" for religious organizations designed to reduce prejudice and hatred towards queer youth, and;
  • Conduct a pilot series of "Pride Speaks" led by queer youth.
• That this project be evaluated on its potential to combat discrimination towards queer youth within religious environments.
• That the LGBT/GLBT communities identify potential role models within these communities. That a LGBT/GLBT organization be funded to produce a series of posters identifying these positive role models and include queer youth who are successes in their own right as well as positive role models in the community.

3. Training, Training, and More Training

• That resources which provide spiritually based peer counselling for queer youth be identified, especially for those LGBT/GLBT youth that are in organized religions. If no peer counselling service exists, either one must be created or existing service providers need to be trained. Volunteers and staff at youth centres must receive spirituality-based training and the linkages of religious morality to suicide, depression and self-destructive behaviours as well as available spiritual resources.

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